New Scientist


Saturn has a big, weird decagon around its south pole

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:00:00 +0000

A decagon – a geometric polygon with 10 sides and 10 angles – has been found on Saturn, and nobody is quite sure how it got there


Why the extremes of climate breakdown will continue to take us by surprise

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

The relentless heatwaves that have hit the northern hemisphere this summer have made the climate threat real for many – but preparation and adaptation will take us only so far


Adam Kucharski would like to point out he did not win big at a casino

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Feedback goes down an AI rabbit hole after discovering that the internet is making up stories about epidemiologist and mathematician Adam Kucharski - and that his wife has had to weigh in


This week’s new questions

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Why hasn’t evolution reintroduced gills in the land-based mammals that returned to the sea? And what is the fastest way to empty a full jug of water?


What is the optimal way to ice a cocktail? Part 2

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Readers continue to share their two cents on how best to keep your cocktail cool


Humans can see water, so can fish see air?

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

One reader delves into whether or not fish can see air – and question if humans can strictly see water


If the sun suddenly disappeared, how long would life on Earth last?

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Readers offer different perspectives on the fate of life on Earth should the sun vanish – and there may be hope for some


Ambitious sci-fi novel imagines a universe where time flows backwards

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

People are born old in their graves and get more robust over life, only to shrink into babies who are pushed into their mother’s womb. The ambitious Under Story conjures a disconcerting, “backwards” world, finds science fiction columnist Emily H. Wilson


The legendary snow leopard comes up against harsh realities in remarkable book

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

In Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi's The Ghost of the Mountains, the near-spiritual myth of the elusive snow leopard becomes a way of understanding all that we stand to lose from the forces of climate change


Designer floating homes may be the future as sea levels rise

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Are these floating houses in Amsterdam’s IJburg district the shape of things to come? Check out Floating Futures, a new series by photojournalist Alessandro Gandolfi